‘jOBS’ Set Photos: Ashton Kutcher as Apple CEO Steve Jobs

When it was revealed that Ashton Kutcher – star of That ’70s Show and Charlie Sheen’s “replacement” on Two and a Half Men – would be donning the turtlenecks of Apple guru Steve Jobs, most fans cried foul. How could the actor who made a living off exaggerated expressions and pranking celebrities possibly play such a reserved man?

While we may not have any better idea as to how Kutcher will adopt the mannerisms of the late Jobs for his currently-in-production biopic, jOBs (great title), we do have a better idea of how Kutcher has altered his appearance to become the Apple CEO. Set photos from jOBS have made their way online that show Kutcher as a ’90s version of Jobs, when he was known to don a bowl cut and a sweater vest.

The images themselves come to us courtesy of X17, and we have to say we’re quite surprised at how closely Kutcher resembles Steve Jobs. Some images of Kutcher meant to be Jobs earlier in life leaked online not that long ago, and even those had us impressed. And now these photos give us hope that, at the very least, Kutcher will resemble Jobs throughout his life.

Oftentimes with casting, the producers see something the audience does not. We knew that Daniel Day Lewis was going to do a great job adopting President Lincoln’s mannerisms, for example, but we never could have imagined how closely he would resemble him in full make-up. Here we have the star of such films as The Killers and No Strings Attached looking the part of one of the greatest tech minds the world has ever known:

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Obviously looking the part and playing the part don’t go hand in hand, and unfortunately, a lot of the production’s key personnel aren’t as proven as we’d like. First time screenwriter Michael Whiteley and director Joshua Michael Stern (whose last credit was the 2008 Kevin Costner film, Swing Vote) aren’t exactly the people one calls when developing a biopic of this caliber, but we’re open to being pleasantly surprised by their efforts.

Another Steve Jobs biopic is also in the works, with Aaron Sorkin reportedly writing the script – but considering jOBS is already in the midst of filming, that Sorkin version will be consistently judged against this film, regardless of whether it can accumulate more star power.

In addition to Kutcher, jOBS stars Matthew Modine, Dermot Mulroney, and Josh Gad (as Steve Wozniak). The film was first touted as being a 2012 release, but it seems more likely that it will be out in theaters next year.

What do you think of Ashton Kutcher as an older Steve Jobs? Does he look the part or is it too hard to divorce Kutcher’s persona from the role?